So whats happening to our friends over in Greece? A country once known for its white sandy beaches and beautiful islands has begun grabbing headlines for different reasons over the last week, we take a brief look at what exactly is going on;

 

• Alexis Tsipras has become the new Greek Prime Minister.
• He stands firmly behind his pledge of renegotiating Greece’s bailout loans and reducing its increasing debt burden.
• He believes that he will ‘bring an end to the vicious circle of austerity and unemployment’
• Eurozone finance ministers are preparing to sit down with the new Greek PM but they are reluctant to give in to his demands.
• Greece currently owe its three main creditors (IMF, ECB, European Commission) €240bn ($270bn).
• The IMF have made it clear that Greece will be receiving no special treatment or debt forgiveness.
• The new coalition government will need to find €7bn  its next bailout repayment to keep the government running and avoid potential default.

We will be keeping a close eye to see how this one plays out, yes the Greek PM has talked a big game so far and it has won him power, but how far this power will go, only time will tell. The troika or any of the lending institutions don’t seem willing to breach code and allow Greece any initial debt write-off.

From an Irish perspective if the ECB were to give in to Greek demands Ireland would surely be in a position to jump on the bandwagon, however we have played by the rules for so long I don’t think it would make a big difference to us at this stage.